The (other) Writer's Maifesto

Hello friends!
Unfortunately, life has been keeping me busy, so I don't have much to share with you.  The good news is that another enterprising individual has done some good work that is worthy of sharing here, so I will direct your attention to the link:  http://www.austinkleon.com/2011/03/30/how-to-steal-like-an-artist-and-9-other-things-nobody-told-me/
If you haven't checked out my own manifesto, I recommend you do so!

I'd just like to add a little addendum to the comment 'nothing is original':  this is 100% true.  Almost any idea you come across has been done before in some way or another.  The best thing to do is accept this, and move on.  Writing is not an exercise in futility.  Just because an idea has been done before does not mean an idea has been fully explored, or even done right the first time.  Take Star Wars, for instance.  When you break it down, it's all a mishmash of various elements:  WWII imagery, spaghetti westerns, samurai culture, and various elements of mythology.  Done by someone else, this could have resulted in a true disaster of a movie, but George Lucas created something where all of these elements came together so seamlessly, the final product became a mythology in itself.  Let this be a lesson to you, the writer:  when you do it right, you can create 'new' stories.  Yes, many of your stories may have been told before, but it's your voice that will make them look new and original.  No one else has the writing voice you have, and it's up to you to make that voice heard!

You may have noticed the little page views counter I've recently added here.  I'd like to do something special for you all once that counter reaches 500, but I'm not sure what to do yet.  Perhaps a brief story, or a playlist for writing would be good.  What would you like me to make for you?